How to manage Notification Center banners, popups, badges, and sounds on your iPhone and iPad

Notification Center alerts you to everything that's happening on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad using a combination of banners, popups, badges, and sounds/vibrations. That's great if it's something really important like an alarm, appointment, or iMessage. But when every app and game on your iPhone starts blinking, beeping, and buzzing, notifications quickly turns into interruptions. When everything is urgent, nothing is. Luckily, Notification Center also lets you turn off those banners, popups, badges, and sounds on an app-by-app basis, so you get to decide what's important enough to get your attention. That's right, serenity -- and sanity! -- can be yours again in just a few simple steps.

How to disable Lock screen alerts Notification Center

Scroll down and find the app you'd like to disable Lock screen alerts for and tap on it.

Again, scroll down to the bottom and now turn the option for Show on Lock Screen to Off.

How to disable banners and pop-up alerts in Notification Center

Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.

Tap on Notification Center.

Scroll down and find the app you'd like to disable banners or pop-up alerts for and tap on it.

At the top under Alert Type, tap on None.

How to disable app icon badges in Notification Center

Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.

Tap on Notification Center.

Scroll down and find the app you'd like to disable app icon badges for and tap on it.

Turn the option for Badge App Icon to Off.

How to disable sounds in Notification Center

Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.

Tap on Notification Center.

Scroll down and find the app you'd like to disable sounds for and tap on it.

Turn the option for Sounds to Off. This also disables any vibration alerts that may be attached to that sound alert.

Unfortunately there's no way to change all your app settings at one time in Notification Center and they must be done on a case by case basis. The next best thing however is to use Do Not Disturb mode when you don't want any notifications. Perhaps it's an option we'll see in a future version of iOS. Until then, is there any other kind of change you'd like to see Apple make to how notifications are handled? Let me know in the comments!